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Hoopa Valley Indian Tribe v. Ryan

Citation: 35 ELR 20142
No. No. 03-16940, (9th Cir., 07/08/2005)

The court held that a Native American tribe is ineligible for funding under the mandatory contracting provisions of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) to implement a salmon and steelhead restoration project in the Trinity River Basin. The restoration projects are designed to benefit the public as a whole rather than the tribe in particular. Thus, the ISDEAA's mandatory contracting provisions do not apply. Nor did the Bureau of Reclamation violate its trust obligation to the tribe by determining that contracts for the restoration work itself should be negotiated under the discretionary, rather than the mandatory, provisions of the ISDEAA.